[Senju Clan Grounds, Deep Into The Night]
The urgent report arrived in the latter half of the night.
When the messenger ninja stumbled into the council hall, Hashirama was leaning against the wall, simply bandaging the wound on his shoulder.
Tobirama stood by the window, keeping his sensory range at its maximum, afraid that something might happen to the Senju flank again.
Both of them still carried the smell of blood from the battlefield, and the edges of their robes had been burned black.
"Clan Leader... has fallen in battle."
"He died together with Uchiha Tajima. The body... has not been recovered yet.", The messenger ninja said.
The air instantly froze.
Hashirama's hand paused slightly, and his bandaging stopped.
He raised his head. A trace of complicated emotion and grief flashed through his eyes, but quickly faded back into calm.
"I understand."
Tobirama suddenly turned around, clear shock appearing on his face for the first time.
"Father... how could this happen?"
Senju Hashirama was likewise grief-stricken, but his reaction was not as hysterical as Madara's.
Tobirama stared deeply at his elder brother.
"Big brother, you're not sad?"
Hashirama was silent for a moment before slowly speaking. "Would being sad be useful?
"When Father was alive, we never truly convinced him. He wanted war, he wanted victory, he wanted Uchiha blood. Now he's dead, but the war won't stop. Grief can't solve anything."
Senju Hashirama raised his head and looked at Tobirama, his gaze unusually serious.
"Compared to being sad, I'd rather know this: what do we do next?"
Tobirama's fingers tightened slightly at his side. He knew his elder brother too well.
On the surface, Hashirama was always gentle, even somewhat scatterbrained, but once he decided on a direction, he became extraordinarily firm.
His father's death had perhaps already been played out countless times on the battlefields in his mind.
What he truly cared about had never been "loss," but "what came after."
Low voices of discussion gradually sounded outside the council hall.
The elders arrived one after another. Some had pale faces, some were burning with anger, and some were already discussing how to take revenge on the Uchiha. The atmosphere grew increasingly chaotic.
Tobirama suddenly stepped forward and lowered his voice so that only Hashirama could hear. "Big brother, now is not the time to lose our heads."
"I know."
"With Father dead, there will immediately be a power vacuum within the clan. The elders who favor war will demand an immediate full-scale counterattack, while the moderates will demand that we stabilize the defensive line first. If the two sides start arguing, it won't do the Senju any good."
"We need someone who can keep the situation under control.", Tobirama spoke quickly.
Hashirama looked at him without saying anything.
Tobirama took a deep breath. His voice grew lower, but more resolute. "Big brother, you should become the clan leader."
Hashirama's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Me?"
"Who else besides you?"
"In terms of strength, you're already the strongest in the clan. In terms of prestige, most of the younger generation follows you. In terms of character... you're the only one who has truly thought about 'ending the war.'"
"When Father was alive, no one could overturn his will.
"Now that he's gone, if we still let those elders who know nothing but revenge take power, the Senju will be completely dragged down in the next great battle."
Tobirama looked straight into his eyes.
Hashirama was silent for a long time.
"Tobirama, you know what I really want."
"I know."
"You want to build a village where children no longer have to go to the battlefield. But if you can't even obtain the position of clan leader, your idea will always remain just an idea. Father's death may be a source of grief for you, but it's also an opportunity."
Tobirama nodded.
Senju Tobirama paused, then added, "I won't compete with you. I'll only stand behind you. When someone needs to be killed, I'll kill them. When scheming is necessary, I'll handle it. You only need to stand in front and lead the Senju in the direction you want to go."
Hashirama looked at his younger brother, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes.
His younger brother had always been meticulous.
"You're thinking very far ahead."
"Someone has to."
"Father only saw the victory in front of him, so he died on the road to that victory. If we're still like him, you and I will be the next ones to die.", Tobirama said again.
Just then, hurried knocking suddenly sounded from outside the door. An elder's voice came through, carrying clear anger. "Hashirama! Tobirama! The clan leader has fallen in battle. What are you two still doing inside? Come out and take charge of the situation immediately!"
Hashirama looked deeply at Tobirama and nodded.
"Okay."
He raised a hand and adjusted his collar. His voice returned to its usual gentleness, but carried an extra weight that left no room for argument. "I'll go out. Stay close to me."
Tobirama nodded, a faint trace of relief flashing through his eyes.
"Mm."
The two walked out of the council hall one after the other.
The outside was already packed with people.
Elders, guards, young ninja, all eyes were focused on them.
Some had reddened eyes, some gripped their blades, and some were cursing the Uchiha under their breath.
The air was filled with anger and unease.
Hashirama stood on the steps and slowly swept his gaze across everyone.
He did not mention his father's death first, nor did he bring up revenge. He simply spoke calmly. "Father has fallen in battle. That is a fact."
The entire crowd fell silent.
"What matters most right now is not rushing out and fighting the Uchiha to the death, but stabilizing our defensive line first, counting the casualties, and tending to the wounded. A reckless attack will only send more people to their deaths."
One of the war-faction elders immediately said in a deep voice, "Hashirama! Your father just died, and you already want to retreat?!"
Hashirama turned to look at him. His gaze was gentle, but carried pressure. "I'm not retreating. I'm taking responsibility for the Senju!
"Father traded his life for this breathing room. We cannot waste it ourselves. Anyone who wants to start a war immediately can take their own people and go. But if something goes wrong, they will bear the consequences themselves."
The elder was stunned by his gaze. In the end, he gave a cold snort and said nothing more.
Standing beside his brother, Tobirama added in a cold voice, "From today onward, all movements along the borders must be approved by Hashirama. Anyone who acts without authorization will be punished for disobeying the clan order."
The atmosphere in the council hall remained quiet for less than ten breaths after Hashirama finished speaking.
An elder with white hair and beard suddenly stepped forward and slammed his palm heavily onto the table, producing a loud "bang."
"Ridiculous!"
"Senju Hashirama, how old are you?! How dare you speak to us old men like this?"
"The clan leader just died, and his bones haven't even grown cold, yet you want to take over the position of clan leader? Hashirama, aren't you being a little too eager?"
Immediately afterward, two more elders from the war faction stepped forward.
"That's right! The most important thing right now is to immediately gather our forces and teach the Uchiha a bloody lesson, not discuss who becomes clan leader here!"
"Hashirama, your ideas have become more and more dangerous lately. You're always thinking about some kind of peace... Father stopped you from acting recklessly when he was here, and now that he's gone, you want to do whatever you please?!"
The voices of opposition rose one after another.
Most of the younger generation remained silent, but the attitudes of several senior elders were exceptionally firm.
Some had even placed their hands on the hilts of their blades, their gazes unfriendly.
Tobirama stood beside Hashirama, his gaze turning slightly cold.
He had expected this, but he had not expected the opposition to come so quickly and so directly.
Hashirama merely looked quietly at those elders, his expression completely unchanged.
"So..."
"...you mean to say, continue fighting, keep fighting until another batch of Senju die, until one day we can't even protect our clan grounds anymore?"
"What are you saying?! We Senju have never feared war!", The white-haired elder shouted.
"Not fearing war doesn't mean blindly throwing our lives away."
"Father and Uchiha Tajima died together, giving both sides a brief vacuum. This should be an opportunity for us to readjust, not an excuse to push everyone into the fire again."
Hashirama took a step forward, his gaze sweeping across the entire crowd.
"Enough!"
"Hashirama, if you dare say such words that undermine morale again, don't blame us for..."
Another elder suddenly drew half his blade.
Before he could finish speaking, Hashirama suddenly raised his hand.
The next instant...
BOOM!
The entire council hall shook violently.
The ground suddenly split open, and countless thick wooden vines burst out from beneath the earth.
In an instant, the wooden vines wrapped around one another, intertwined, and rose upward. In the blink of an eye, they formed a huge wooden wall in front of Hashirama, blocking all the elders who had drawn their blades outside.
Several thinner branches precisely wrapped around the wrists of several people, forcing their blades to fall to the ground with clear clangs.
The entire hall fell silent.
Everyone froze in place, their eyes wide.
"This... what is this?"
"Wood... wood? It grew out of the ground?!"
"A Kekkei Genkai?! When did the Senju get a Kekkei Genkai like this?!"